Laminate Installation- measuring and installing

Easy techniques for measuring Laminate cuts

During every laminate installation there are two things that you will do a lot of, they are measuring for a cut and installing a plank. Each of these are pretty simple to do, Right? Well I would say maybe, unless you know a few quick and easy techniques to use in the process. In this post I will explain how to mark these cuts and I will also show you a few tools that you can use during your laminate installation.

Laminate installation- measuring a cut

Put away your tape measure because you will not need to use it. Yes I really just said that and I mean it. During my laminate installation I use nothing but a marker and a cheater board(more on the cheater board in my How to scribe a wall video) to measure and mark ALL my cuts.

It’s really pretty simple and you are gonna learn how in just a few short minutes. Take a look at one of the planks that you have. You will notice that there is a tongue on one side(the male end) and there is a groove on the other(the female end). By the way most laminate installations the female end will face away from the starting wall.[so facing out] Now that we have this established, lets move on. During the laminate installation when you get to the end of a row, take a plank and turn it 180 degrees. It will now be backwards and the female end would be facing the starting wall. Place the plank on the floor next to space that you will need a cut piece. Slide the plank tight to the wall.

If the tongue on the end of the board is greater then 1/4 then you will need to adjust the mark your about to make accordingly. Once the laminate is in place mark the plank where the the last plank ends. This will be the cut piece. Its just that simple. Now if you need to adjust for the gap that will be left because the tongue on your plank is greater than 1/4 inch than adjust your mark accordingly. Once you mark a few boards you will get the hang of it.

Most of the time during the laminate installation I always try to install a row in the direction where the tongue would be against the wall when I flip it around to mark the cut and the female end would be away from the wall.

So that might mean you install the planks from left to right or from right to left depending on the laminate and the way it was designed.

It will always be easiest to work away from the female end!

That is how easy it really is to mark a cut. I will show you in detail when you watch the video below. I also have more measuring techniques in some of my other videos. Be sure to watch them all cause you won’t want to miss them.

Laminate Installation- Easy techniques and must have tools

Laminate installation can be tough at first. Some locking systems are harder to use than others. To be honest the cheaper laminates that you find on special at the home improvement stores are usually the toughest to use. The more expensive laminates usually have a a more user friendly locking system.

MOST, not all have one thing in common though, once you get a few down the easier it gets. Its just repetition. You will get the feel of what it takes to put it together and it will get easier. Some however you will fight the entire way. So, stay away from those $.99 specials!!

There are really only 2 major tools you will need to help with putting the boards together. They are a tapping block and a pull bar. Both of these should be good quality. I do want to tell you that if you are installing a large amount of laminate, that you should consider something with quality. The kits you find at the home improvement stores are just complete junk.

tapping block

pull bar.

Laminate installation- using a tapping block

I use a tapping block quite a bit on most of my laminate installations. It really helps to speed things along and it can give you that little extra push that you need to get the laminate to lock together. I use it just like what the states. I tap the laminate with it. I don’t try to kill it. You can damage the laminate if you hit the tapping block against it too hard.

You can also use a scrap of laminate as the board that you tap so you don’t damage the plank that is going to stay. Simply lock the scrap into place and then tap the edge. This will prevent damage to the other plank and it does not matter if you damage the scrap. Use a bigger scrap piece if you need to hit it hard. this will disperse the blow evenly so no damage will occur.

While installing a row i will tap the laminate lightly and most of the time the laminate will fall right into place. If doesn’t, then there is a chance that something could be inside the female end of the laminate. Just take it apart and look inside and clean out any deb-re that you find. Then just re install.

Laminate Installation- using a pull bar

A pull bar is used during the laminate installation when you need to close up a gap this is on the ends of a plank. It also is used if you need to move a row that is to close to the wall. I also use this under cabinet toe kicks or even the last row. It really is a great tool to have in your arsenal. You just place one end on the end of the row and hit the other end with a hammer or rubber mallet.

This should do the trick to moving the row where you need it. I have some demonstrations of how I use it in this video and a few others such as Installing Laminate in a hallway and Installing the last row of laminate. Check out the video I have below. It will show you everything we just talked about. Laminate installation can be easy when you learn the correct techniques to installing it. I hope all this helps.

Basic measuring, cutting and installing laminate flooring

Advanced measuring, cutting and installing Laminate Flooring

I hope this helps you with your laminate installation. Any questions you have or even just to say thanks please comment below. I also want to be clear that if you buy from any of the links listed above I do make a profit from them. This is how I support my website so, if you want to help me out than please use my link. I really appreciate it!!

Some laminates are harder than others to install. What brand is it. ALSO it can be helpful to have 2 people when installing a row especially when the laminate is popping out. Try to keep asome low of of angle as possible and try using a tapping block to help it into the joint. Watch my videos again to see how I do it.